Means for removing the harness and stopping instrumentalities from a loom



' March 12, 1935. J, J, WILLIAMSON MEANS FOR REMOVING THE HARNESS AND STOPPING INSTRUMENTALITIES FROM A LOOM F'iledDec. 6, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 12, 1935. J. J. WILLIAMSON 1,994,296 MEANS FOR REMOVING THE HARNESS AND STOPPING INSTRUMENTALITRES FROM A LOOM 2 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Dec. 6, 1953 Jana:

INVENTOR Z m flidm ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT. orrics FOR. REMOVING THE HARNESS AND STOPPING INSTRUMENTALIT IES FROM A the old warp and the drawing of the twists or LOOM James J. Williamson, Putnam, Conn. Application December 6, 1933, Serial No. 701,090 7 7 Claims. (01. 28-42) 0n the warp of a loom becoming exhausted the uniting of the threads of a new to those of other unions formed through the eyes of the 5 equipment including the harness and the fallers of a warp stop motion mechanism, if present, are sometimes done at a place apart from the loom so that the loom can in the meanwhile continue in operation with another such equipment, the old warp being cut off for this purpose forward and rearward of the equipment.

This invention relates to apparatus whereby such equipment and the cut-ofi portion of the old warp may be conveniently transported from the loom, properly supported while the'uniting of the new to the old warp and the drawingthrough of the twists or the like are performed,

and then transported back to the loom with the new warp. The objects are to provide a simple and inexpensive apparatus of this character and to construct it so that the drawing-through operation may be facilitated and carried on without danger of the threads falling'out of control of the fallers and harness and so that the transporting offsaid apparatus and the equipment, as well as the new beam when return of the equipment to the loom'occurs, may be accomplished with convenience and while the beam and 'said equipment are held in a compact and stable relation to each other.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 shows a loom with the transporting part of the apparatus in dotted outline associated with the harness and ready to receive the supporting bars and their carried fallers, the

view being in section in a plane between the two structures constituting said part of the apparatus;

- Fig. 2 is a viewyof theassembly'comprising said part of the apparatus and equipment, with the cut-ofi part of the old warp, ready to be transported'to the place for uniting the new to such old warp and performing the drawingthrough operation this view being also a section in a plane between said two structures;

Fig. 3. shows said part of the apparatus in elevation as seen from the right in Fig.2;

' Fig. 4'is a sectional View similar to Fig. 2, "but showing the entire apparatusand'the conditions at the time of the drawing-through with respect to the fallers;

- Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the conditions at the time of the drawingthrough with respect to the harness;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View similar to'Fig. 2, bllt position, or what I term its inner side (being the showing the conditions when said equipment and the new beam are transported back to the loom; and

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate details.

1 is the loom' and 2 its harness-frames or "5 shafts suspended by the harness cords 3, and having heddles 2a each with an eye 2b through which a thread of the old warp A shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 to 6 passes. The fallers are indicated at 4 and at 5 are shown their supporting bars carried at their ends in brackets 6 attached to the loom sides, the brackets as usual having pivoted gates 7 which clamp the bars in place butmay be swung back to clear them. The stop motion in the example being assumed to be of 15 the electric type, each bar comprises (Fig. 2) a metal rod 5a in which, insulated therefrom, is set a metal strip 51), the rod and strip forming the terminals of an electric circuit in which electro-magnetic means for stopping the loom is contained. In the m each faller straddles "and is thereby supported by a warp thread out of contact with the strip, but if the thread breaks the faller falls and closes the circuit between the strip and rod to cause stopping of the loom, all as well known.

Referring, now, to the apparatus of this "invention: l

8 designates two counterpart plate-like supports each preferably of cast aluminum with cored-out portions 8a to reduce its weight to the minimum and having axrearwardly open mouthBb which at its lower side in the normal or upright position of the support has notches 8c spaced apart the same distance as the bars 5 are spaced in the loom and adapted respectively to receivethe bars.

The mouth-is adapted to be closed by a memher 9 which 'is pivoted to the support at the lower side of the mouth and which when'swung down to approximately horizontal position may abut the support, as at 10, Fig. 2, to maintain it in that position. That side 9a of said member which isup when the member is in horizontal side which is inward when said member closes the mouth 82)) is straight and; when said member is in open position (Fig. l), said side is substantially horizontal. Its opposite or outer side 9b is concave as viewed in side elevation for a purpose to appear. To hold said member in closed position it has a hook l1 pivoted thereto and adapted to engage a stud l2 onthe support;

At the top and bottom of each support are hook-shaped clamps 13 formed with longitudinal 5 slots 13a through which extend studs 14 on the support having clamping nuts 14a. The terminals of the two clamps project toward each other and in operative position (Figs. 2 to 4) they oppose the back of the support (the side opposite its mouth) and due to their slots the clamps may be utilized to coact with said back to support and clamp the harnesseframes; aswill appear, the hooks may be turned to present their hook ends to one side of the support, or in idle position (Fig. 5). v

A beam recess is formed in the front of each structure when its member 9 is closed in part by the concave outer side of said member and in part by hollowing out the support below the pivot for said member, as at 8d.

Each support has a pair of holes 15 immedi ately below the plane to be occupied by the warp and both sides of the position occupied by the fallers and each of the members 9 also has a similar hole 16 (see Fig. 2). These holes are to receive fiat bars 17 arranged with their broad sides facing laterally and having a purpose to appear; there is also a hole 15a in each hook 11 adapted to receive a stifi wire 15b (Figs. 4 and 5).

A strap 18 may be attached to the front of each support, of a length to encompass the beam 19 for the new warp B, its free end being adapted to be caught by the hook 20. In the example, each strap has key-hole slots 21 (Fig. '7) to receive the headedstuds 22 by which it is attached to the support.

Fixed parts of the apparatus, arranged apart from the loom, are formed by gibbet-like structures 23 whose arms are adapted to penetrate holes 24 extending into the supports from their rear sides and whose upper sides form downwardly facing rests superimposed on the arms, whereby the supports are suspended from the arms. The arms have a close fitting elongated bearing in the holes so that the supports are steadied or held rigid with respect to the arms.

The apparatus is'utilized as follows: The two supports 8 are made by their hooks 13 to clamp the harness frames as they hang in the loom, the members 9 being depressed so that the mouths of the'supports are open, whereupon the parts 5, carrying their fallers, are placed one by one in the notches 8c of the supports. The harness frames being then disconnected from their cords 3 and the old warpA being severed forward of the harness and back of the bars and fallers, the entire system, including'the supports,-bars and fallers and the harness, is hung on the horizontal arms of the gibbets 23 as shown in Fig. 4 with said arms penetrating the holes 24 of the supports, whereupon the twisting or other uniting of the threads of the new warp B with those of the old warp is effected. This being accomplished, the twists or other unions 0 now formed between the threads of the two warps must be drawn through the fallers and the eyes 2b of the harness. For this purpose the operation first proceeds as in Fig. 4; that is, each bar 5 is shifted rearwardly onto the members 9, which have been now depressed,

and the threading-through effected as to the fallers on such bar, then the next bar is shifted rearwardly onto the members 9 and the threading-through effected as to the fallers on such bar, and so on until all the fallers are threaded. This being, completed, the operation proceeds as in Fig. 5, that is,v the harness frames having been released by the hooks 13 and allowed to hang on the gibbet arms and the hooks turned to the position of Fig. 5, all the harness-frames except the extreme rearward one are shifted forward, and then the threadingthrough is elfected as to the eyes 21) of the latter frame; then the next rearward frame is shifted rearward. and the threading-through eifected as to the eyes 2210f that frame, and so on until theeyes of all the frames haye been threaded. I

It willbe understood that by providing support for the faller bars and harness, frames where'on they may be shifted apart from each other, as the members 9 and the arms of the gibbets, the threading-through operations with ,respecttothe fallers and harness-frame eyes are greatly facilitated, especially when it is considered that there are frequently many hundreds of threads to a warp and that in the normalrelation of the fallers and of the harness eyes they are very compactly arranged.

At the time the threading-through operation is performed, to wit,yafter the faller-bars and fallers and the harness have been transported to and suspended as described fromilthe gibr bets,the bars 17 are extended through the holes 16 to prevent the possibility of any filament formed by connected old and new warp'threads so far sagging as to escape downward out of the fork of the corresponding faller; this is otherwise likely to happen, especially in the condition of Fig. 4 between the two separated groups, of

the fallers, or in: the condition of Fig.5 between the fallers and the harness-frames. To prevent the weight of the warp between the apparatus and the new warp beam (assumed to beat the left of Fig. 4 or 5) from possibly sagging :and

withdrawingfrom .the harness eyes and fallers' the entire group of filaments formed-by connected old and new warp threads the wire 151) may be placed in the holes 15a and thus bridge members 9 under the filaments. I v

Having completed thethreading-through op eration, the faller-bars are re-set in the notches 8c, the-members 9 returned to closed position and held by the hooks 11, and the harness.-

frames returned to their original position and I clamped by the devices 13, whereupon the two supports 8 are positioned against the'beam as shown in Fig. .6, being thereupon lashed to it by the straps 18 in the manner there shown.

In suchposition the beam, by its periphery engaging .in the mentioned recesses of the struc'" tures 8-9, is held in stable relation to such structures; ifthe beam is flanged its flanges may bear against the twoleft-hand .bars 17. In either case it has a two-point peripheral contact with each structure, insuring stability of the entire system constituted by the beam and the loaded structures, now lashed together.

Preferably. as shown, the axis of the beamis substantially in. a plane which ,cuts .the said structure, the fallers and 'theharness frame's- 6 andfinally the supports 8 are removed from the harness.

The bars are usually braced midway their length when in the loom by a suitably supported cross-piece. If necessary, such a cross-piece 25, Fig. 8, may be made to bridge the two bars 17 which connect the supports 8 and brace the bars 5 while they are mounted in such supports, the cross-piece having underneath notches to receive said bars.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is:

1. Apparatus for supporting a harness-frame during a threading-through operation with respect to such frame including a pair of spaced upright supports and upper and lower harnessframe holding devices pivoted to each support to move in horizontal planes and projecting beyondand having their free ends spaced from one upright side of the corresponding support and projecting toward each other, the harnessframe being adapted to be received between said supports and free ends of said devices.

2. Apparatus for supporting a harness-frame during a threading-through operation with respect to such frame including a pair of spaced upright supports, upper and lower harnessframe holding devices projecting beyond and movable through the plane of one upright side of each support and having their free ends projecting toward each other, the harness frame being adapted to be received between said supports and free ends of said devices, and means to clamp each device to the corresponding frame in fixed position.

3. Apparatus for removing from a loom a plurality of parallel faller-bars and their carried fallers including two upright spaced supports having laterally open mouths the lower sides of which afford means to support the bars in a substantially horizontal plane and means projecting from each support affording an upwardly facing surface in approximately said plane on which the bars may successively be placed during the operation of threading a warp through the fallers.

4. Apparatus for removing from a loom a plurality of parallel taller-bars and their carried fallers including two upright spaced supports having mouths laterally open in the same direction and supporting said bars in a substantially horizontal plane and a mouth-closing" member pivoted to each support and having limited downward movement to leave open said mouth, each member when in depressed position affording an upwardly facing surface in approximately said plane on which the bars may successively be placed during the operation of threading awarp through the fallers.

5. Apparatus of the class described consistto support loom equipment comprising fallerbars and their carried fallers and the harnessframes substantially in the same relation as said faller-bars and harness-frames are supported in the loom, said structures having surfaces extending substantially horizontally from the opposite sides of said structures and on which, respectively, the faller-bars and harness frames may be successively shifted for threading the warp through them.

6. In combination, with means for supporting loom equipment of the class described comprising two spaced upright supports having means to support said equipment, a warp beam bearing against said supports laterally thereof, and flexible means extending around the beam, to clamp the beam to each support, each support aifording contact to the beam-periphery at two points spaced from each other around the periphery.

'7. In combination, with means for supporting a plurality of taller-bars and their carried fallers including two spaced upright supports having means to support said bars in a substantially horizontal plane, amember pivoted to each support to move from an upstanding position therein downwardly to a laterally projecting position, each structure having means to limit the downward movement of the corresponding member and said members affording when depressed support onto which the bars may be shifted, and said structures and members, when the latter are in upstanding position, together forming recesses for receiving the periphery of a warp beam.

JAMES J. WILLIAMSON.

ing of spaced upright structures having means 

